I See through Everything

「November 1st.」

In the Shanmei District, on the middle section of Erma Road near Shanmei Middle School, a restaurant called Jianghai Restaurant was holding its grand opening ceremony across three connected storefronts.

Diagonally across the street was the Hailufeng Company’s product specialty store.

Apparently, the physical commerce division had made a distinction between the product specialty stores, the eel restaurants, and Jianghai Restaurant.

According to the company’s internal positioning, Jianghai Restaurant’s target customer base leaned towards budget-friendly, fast-food chains.

Ye Meiya, who had previously worked at the specialty store, had become the manager of the Jianghai Restaurant branch on Erma Road.

After the lion dance performance, Ye Meiya and several waiters stood on the street, handing out a large stack of coupons to passersby.

The passersby didn’t show much interest. After all, new restaurants were constantly opening on Erma Road, and they usually wouldn’t last a year, or even half a year, before quietly closing down for good.

Some people simply ignored them.

Naturally, there were also those willing to try something new.

The prices were, after all, very tempting.

A special grilled fish bento set was only 9.9 yuan.

For a place like Shanmei, which suffered from extremely high inflation, a 10-yuan bento was a price from a decade ago. Nowadays, the cheapest ones were 12 yuan, with the average price hovering around 15.

Two construction workers, who had just finished a renovation job nearby, took the coupons. They were looking for a place to eat anyway, and their stomachs were growling, so they decided to give the new restaurant a try.

Ye Meiya smiled and asked, "Welcome! Please, come in. Will you be dining in, or getting it to go?"

"We’ll eat here."

They found an empty table and sat down. Ye Meiya had already come over with laminated menus. "What can I get for you two?"

"We’ll have two of the special sets. And two Cokes, the glass bottle ones," said the worker, Old Zhang, as he pulled out the coupons. "This is good for two yuan off, right?"

"Yes, you can use one per person." Ye Meiya said with a smile. "Just give them to the cashier when you pay."

"That’s it for us then."

"Alright. Please wait a moment, it’ll be right out."

In less than two minutes, Ye Meiya returned with two stainless steel lunch boxes, similar to old-fashioned aluminum ones, along with two glass bottles of Coke.

Old Zhang opened the lid and found one meat dish and one vegetable dish, each taking up half the space, completely covering the surface of the rice beneath.

Slices of Egyptian Catfish, cooked in a style similar to kabayaki unagi, were grilled to a golden-brown, caramelized perfection. A special sauce was drizzled on top, and the aroma was incredible.

On the other side, stir-fried cabbage with pork cracklings gave off a faint, savory scent of pork mixed with the fresh fragrance of the greens.

Taking out a pair of disposable chopsticks, Old Zhang rubbed them together and picked up a piece of the fish.

"Huh? There’s another layer of fish? I thought it was just one layer on top with all rice underneath."

"Mmmph... This is really good!" His co-worker, Xiaoliao, was already digging in eagerly, speaking with his mouth full.

Before they knew it, the two of them had devoured their entire, packed lunch boxes.

BURP... After finishing his Coke, Xiaoliao let out a satisfied burp. "Whew... I’m about seventy percent full."

"What kind of fish was that?" Old Zhang asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin, a thoughtful look on his face.

"No idea. All I know is it was delicious, a big portion, and cheap." Xiaoliao shook a toothpick out of its dispenser and started picking his teeth.

Xiaohuangmao at the next table turned and said quietly, "It’s Egyptian Fish. I heard it from my relative. This place was opened by the Hailufeng Company. My relative works at their factory in Magong, gutting fish for them. They specifically process this type of Egyptian Fish."

"Shit! Egyptian Fish?" Old Zhang was suddenly grossed out.

Xiaoliao looked at him skeptically. "For real? Then why are you eating it? Don’t you think it’s disgusting?"

"Disgusting, my ass! My relative has given my family Egyptian Fish fillets several times. We just steam them, and they taste pretty much like grouper. Their Egyptian Fish are specially farmed. They only eat grass and feed."

What the two of them didn’t know was that Xiaohuangmao was a shill hired by Jianghai Restaurant. His job was to change customers’ perceptions of Egyptian Fish using this exact method. To ensure these "influencers" could smoothly guide customers, the company had even provided special training. They had even taken them on a tour of the temporary Egyptian Catfish farm to strengthen their psychological conviction.

After all, when a person is convinced of the truth of something, they can praise it to the high heavens without any psychological burden.

But if they knew the product had issues, a non-professional salesperson would easily feel a psychological burden. This could cause them to be ambiguous or evasive when guiding customers, ultimately giving the game away.

"How do you know so much?" Old Zhang looked at Xiaohuangmao suspiciously.

Without batting an eye, Xiaohuangmao replied, "Like I said, my relative told me. I’ve even had steamed Egyptian Fish myself."

"It is a bit strange," a man with glasses from another table chimed in. "I had Egyptian Fish a few times when I was a kid. The stuff was fatty and had a really strong, muddy taste. You had to use chili and broad bean paste to cover it up. But the Egyptian Fish here doesn’t have that muddy taste at all. Bro, do you know how they do that?"

"I only heard about it, but apparently they use some new technology. The Egyptian Fish have to be raised in indoor pools and fed a custom diet of feed and grass. Otherwise, there’s no way to get rid of the muddy taste." Xiaohuangmao and the man with glasses started chatting amongst themselves.

Old Zhang, meanwhile, called a waitress over.

Ye Meiya hurried over.

"Yes? Is there anything you need?"

"Is this grilled fish you serve made from Egyptian Fish?" Old Zhang asked directly.

Ye Meiya, who was prepared for this, nodded. "Yes, it is. It’s a new variety of Egyptian Fish specially cultivated by our company. You can rest assured, sir. Our products are factory-farmed, and all their indicators have passed inspection and quarantine."